many things.

I had planned on writing earlier on here, but--as usual--I haven't had proper time to do so. Numerous things have happened since I last wrote, anniversaries, births, weddings, engagements, and many ponderings that tend to occur in my brain when I least expect them. I suppose I shall start from the beginning, which makes the most sense, as it is where I should start.

The day after I last wrote was Jeremy and my second anniversary (insert raucous huzzahs here). We both had to work that day, but got off around two in the afternoon. We decided to go up on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Craggy Pinnacle to enjoy the late afternoon and early evening. Before we left, Jeremy gave me a beautiful silver barrette with Celtic knotwork and designs embossed into it, as well as Celtic spiral of life earrings. We headed up the parkway which, to no surprise, was gorgeous. We hiked the short way to the top of Craggy Pinnacle and set up our chairs at the summit in front of a view of the reservoir and surrounding moutain peaks and valleys as green as the purest of emeralds. We a light picnic of sandwiches, pretzels, and pasta salad and a bottle of Coppola Claret from 2005, which was delicious. We stayed at the top for a while, enjoying each other's company while Jeremy read from J.R.R. Tolkein's The Hobbit, which I had not read and Jeremy felt he must remedy. We left at just the perfect time as other people came bumbling up the trail. It was a great anniversary; I'm so happy to have spent two years with Jeremy, and look forward to spending many more.

Two nights later, another very exciting yet exhausting (those two come hand in hand far too often) event was that my neice, Seren Amari Foreman, was born early in the morning on July 9th. She came very fast once she decided to come, weighing 10.5 pounds and being only 20 inches long--she's perfect really, with a full head of dark brown hair. Pray for her now though, she went into the hospital on Tuesday night with a fever, which is very dangerous for a week old infant. Pray that she recovers swiftly and the doctors do what they do deftly and confidently.

Last Saturday held much excitement (and exhaustion all said and done). I suppose part of this story could have gone at the beginning, but since I've put it here, here it shall stay. Saturday morning I did a short engagement photoshoot with my brother Drew, and his gorgeous fiance, Kelsey. They were engaged about 2 weeks ago, right here in Montreat, on top of Lookout. So exciting--Jeremy and I are both to be in the wedding party, and the wedding is tenatively to be held next April. More raucous huzzahs for Drew and Kelsey.
Also on Saturday, my cousin Sara Beth married Matt Burns in a beautful ceremony heldin Gaither Chapel in Montreat (the same chapel Jeremy and I got married in, as well as her parents and my parents for that matter.) Sara Beth looked stunning of course, and Matt looked quite dapper in his tuxedo. The reception was full of dancing and good company, including two of my three brothers, and of course Drew's Kelsey. As well as excitement from the wedding--to the wedding I wore a very special dress, one that I made myself (with the wonderful supervision of Christal for most of it.) I shall try to post a photograph, but I actually don't have a good one yet so I might not. It was great making the dress, hard and frustrating at times, but quite rewarding.

On Sunday I did the bridal portraits of a good friend of mine, Hannah, who is getting married on August 1st. It was so much fun, and the photos turned out remarkably well, though Hannah is gorgeous and wasn't afriad of getting the dress dirty (she climbed atop a hay bale in the middle of a field, and jumped off of it as well), so I cannot take all of the credit. I would like to post a photo from the shoot, but I'll have to get Hannah's permission first. Jordan, her fiance, has not seen the dress of course, and I wouldn't want him to stumble upon my blog here and ruin the surprise.

More exciting news includes the homecoming (to Germany) of my brother Stephen, from serving a tour in Iraq. He returns to his wife, Megh, and his girls, Bella and Lola, this Sunday. He and Megh are planning a trip to the US in August and I cannot wait to see them.
In similar news, Andrew Cook, my friend Chelsea's soldier and love ('boyfriend' just doesn't seem profound enough to cover what he is to her)--anyway, he's been deployed to Afganistan for 14 months. So pray for his safety, and Chelsea's sanity while he's gone.

There was something else I wanted to address in this post, and it was in response to something I said in the post before my last, about having a child-like faith. But I think I shall devote a singuar post to it within the next couple of days when I have time. Help me remember, will you?

Caitlin